MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[carletonsid]

Sum-- do you deliver? 
~~~~~~
I must be the one being called a "crackpot" but all I said was this better be the year for the Cobbs as their "Fab 5" freshy class from a few years back is now seniors and on their last hurrah.  Altho, if you look at the results of the past 3 CObber seasons and compare them to Buffalo High when Olsen & Olmscheid were freshman, to juniors, the parallels are almost scary. And we all know what happened in O & O's senior season at BHS!

But this "crackpot" will make a t-shirt wager with you Drake-- if SJU finishes ahead of Concordia, I will buy you a T from my alma mater....if Cord finishes ahead, you buy me one from your (mystery) alma mater (and Cook County Vo-Tech does not count!).. Are you willing to manup on it and risk exposing your alma mater, Drake? (I think think the rumors that you went to CSB have merit)~~~~~~~~~~~
Can UST become the first team to every win SIX MIAC regular season titles in a row?

I'd say that the conference title chase is a two-horse donnybrook between 5-time defending champ UST and the Blue Knight Crew.  A total clusterfield of dark horses will be battling for 3rd and hoping the top 2 fade-- that bunch will be Concordia, USJ, SMU, GAC, HAM, Augs and Ole. The war for playoff slots 3-6 wont be resolved until the last day of action.  Bethel and Mac, while both significantly improved over 2009-10 will bring up the rear.

My ballot for pre-seasonplayer of the year (if voted on) would be 1) Burtzel, 2) Fraase, 3) Nicolai, 4) Healy and 5) Wright.

Can't let this pass. POY discussion HAS to include Sutherland. He was the best player, all-around, in the MIAC in the second half and the MIAC Playoffs.

Knights will be back in West Gym by the home opener with Hamline on Dec. 1, if not sooner. Was just in there with Channel 5 on Thursday. Gym is fine, just need to fix some air-handling equipment (and pool-related equipment) in the basement. 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Sum-- do you deliver? 
~~~~~~
I must be the one being called a "crackpot" but all I said was this better be the year for the Cobbs as their "Fab 5" freshy class from a few years back is now seniors and on their last hurrah.  Altho, if you look at the results of the past 3 CObber seasons and compare them to Buffalo High when Olsen & Olmscheid were freshman, to juniors, the parallels are almost scary. And we all know what happened in O & O's senior season at BHS!

But this "crackpot" will make a t-shirt wager with you Drake-- if SJU finishes ahead of Concordia, I will buy you a T from my alma mater....if Cord finishes ahead, you buy me one from your (mystery) alma mater (and Cook County Vo-Tech does not count!).. Are you willing to manup on it and risk exposing your alma mater, Drake? (I think think the rumors that you went to CSB have merit)~~~~~~~~~~~
Can UST become the first team to every win SIX MIAC regular season titles in a row?

I'd say that the conference title chase is a two-horse donnybrook between 5-time defending champ UST and the Blue Knight Crew.  A total clusterfield of dark horses will be battling for 3rd and hoping the top 2 fade-- that bunch will be Concordia, USJ, SMU, GAC, HAM, Augs and Ole. The war for playoff slots 3-6 wont be resolved until the last day of action.  Bethel and Mac, while both significantly improved over 2009-10 will bring up the rear.

My ballot for pre-seasonplayer of the year (if voted on) would be 1) Burtzel, 2) Fraase, 3) Nicolai, 4) Healy and 5) Wright.

Can't let this pass. POY discussion HAS to include Sutherland. He was the best player, all-around, in the MIAC in the second half and the MIAC Playoffs.

Knights will be back in West Gym by the home opener with Hamline on Dec. 1, if not sooner. Was just in there with Channel 5 on Thursday. Gym is fine, just need to fix some air-handling equipment (and pool-related equipment) in the basement. 

Sutherland will defnintely be in the discussion IF he remains healthy for the full season, which is something he's had trouble doing.

Hipp will be a factor, too...especially if HU contends for one of the top four spots

good news about the gym...maybe one of the many alums (Jack E comes to mind) with deep pockets can spring for a dam or something 

[carletonsid]

Sutherland will defnintely be in the discussion IF he remains healthy for the full season, which is something he's had trouble doing.

Hipp will be a factor, too...especially if HU contends for one of the top four spots

good news about the gym...maybe one of the many alums (Jack E comes to mind) with deep pockets can spring for a dam or something 

Well, JS played in all 20 games in MIAC play last year. I don't think you can discount someone from saying they'd be the mythical MIAC preseason POY just because they MIGHT get injured.

You really should have the Dutch Crunch (aka Jonkey Kong) in your top five.

[Drake Palmer]

Csid – while I agree that Jeremy Sutherland definitely should be considered for POY or MVP, isn't it also true that he received a medical redshirt after his junior year?

2006-2007:  He started every game as a FY in the 06-07 season.
2007-2008:  Played 10 conference games in his soph year 07-08 & then went out with a knee injury?
2008-2009:  Redshirt year: Only played 3 conference games in the 08-09 season & was sidelined with a bad shoulder. 
2009-2010:  In the 09-10 campaign, his JR/SR he started every game for the Knights.

***
Chiming in on the post debate – specifically Jonker & Burtzel...  Personally I think Aaron Burtzel has to do more for his SJU club than Jonker does for Carleton.  They're both talented scorers, Jonker being more of an inside- outside threat, while Burtzel does most of his damage inside. Edge – Jonker.

They both defend & board well - Edge Burtzel

But one key distinction - Burtzel passes the ball nearly as well as another one of my favorite, vertically challenged post players of recent years – Big Al McCoy from UST. Edge - Burtzel   

My top "known" post players would be:

1) Carl Hipp  - Hamline
2)  Aaron Burtzel - SJU
3)  Seth Jonker - Carleton
4)  Chris Palmer - SMU
5) John Fraase – Concordia

Although my personal favorite is still Jonkey Kong , my MVP post candidates would be Hipp, Burtzel & Jonker.   Depending on the year the schools & players have, I could easily see the top 2 post players flip-flopped.

Top League MVP candidates:  Sutherland, Burtzel,Hipp & maybe Nicolai.

[Drake Palmer]

On another note - Hopefully there aren't any scandals developing in MN D3 sportland.  It seems we've got enough of them with the hapless Gopher football team and the Vikings!   Sheesh, how embarrassing! We've had enough negative press to last the rest of the year & then some!

[carletonsid]

Csid – while I agree that Jeremy Sutherland definitely should be considered for POY or MVP, isn't it also true that he received a medical redshirt after his junior year?

2006-2007:  He started every game as a FY in the 06-07 season.
2007-2008:  Played 10 conference games in his soph year 07-08 & then went out with a knee injury?
2008-2009:  Redshirt year: Only played 3 conference games in the 08-09 season & was sidelined with a bad shoulder. 
2009-2010:  In the 09-10 campaign, his JR/SR he started every game for the Knights.

***
Chiming in on the post debate – specifically Jonker & Burtzel...  Personally I think Aaron Burtzel has to do more for his SJU club than Jonker does for Carleton.  They're both talented scorers, Jonker being more of an inside- outside threat, while Burtzel does most of his damage inside. Edge – Jonker.

They both defend & board well - Edge Burtzel

But one key distinction - Burtzel passes the ball nearly as well as another one of my favorite, vertically challenged post players of recent years – Big Al McCoy from UST. Edge - Burtzel   

My top "known" post players would be:

1) Carl Hipp  - Hamline
2)  Aaron Burtzel - SJU
3)  Seth Jonker - Carleton
4)  Chris Palmer - SMU
5) John Fraase – Concordia

Although my personal favorite is still Jonkey Kong , my MVP post candidates would be Hipp, Burtzel & Jonker.   Depending on the year the schools & players have, I could easily see the top 2 post players flip-flopped.

Top League MVP candidates:  Sutherland, Burtzel,Hipp & maybe Nicolai.

That's correct on Sutherland's history. He received the hardship in 2008-09. I went with the team to Hawaii (I know, tough gig) in Nov. 2008 and he played great against two DII teams, leading the Knights to wins over Western New Mexico and Chaminade. I think had he stayed healthy that 2008-09 squad could have done some damage--they were 5-1 when Sutherland had to shut it down for the season.

Agree with you on the post points as well. And yes, let's hope there's not the drama that have plagued the Gophers and Vikings this fall. Yikes!

[aero74]

Rosters are out at SJU and Concordia.

[Drake Palmer]

Thanks for the updates Aero.

Yawn,  At the rate it's going, I'll be hard pressed to come with 5 solid (read - colorful) names for the Freshman All-Name team.  No highlight names from the Jays or Cobbs rosters.
 
Props to the Cobbs for keeping their alumni connections working.  I'm not sure how talented their incoming FY are, but they keep the small, steady trickle to the Bloomington schools & northern metro suburbs going – Anoka, Coon Rapids etc. The new CC website also looks kinda slick.

Johnnies keep working mid central Minnesota, & also pick up a Marx kid from Benilde.  Mose – is he any relation to Nic Marx who played at UST?

In other news, probably as expected, the Gusties lost to nationally ranked (?) DII Augustana 101-74 in a season opener exhibition game.  Interestingly, GAC's starting lineup featured 3 guards - JR 6-1 Seth Anderson, SR 6-1 Dan Schmidtknecht, & SR 6-2 Phil Wirtjes, along with 6-6 SO James Hill & 6-7 Paul Blacklock.  In spite of their size disadvantage, they managed to slightly outrebound the taller Vikings 26-24.  The Gusties  first real D3 test comes up against a familiar non-conference IIAC foe, Buena Vista on 11/15. 

Wow, I just checked the D3 Top 25 & noticed that Loras, also from the IIAC is ranked #33 in the ORV. I saw both Buena Vista & Loras play last year & I'd say Buena Vista looked much stronger than Loras.  In their season opener against Augsburg, the Duhawks from Loras got absolutely clocked by a solid Augsburg squad.  IMO, Buena Vista looked like a much stronger club several weeks later in a defeat to Hamline than Loras did in losing to Augsburg.  It will be interesting to see how the season plays out for those teams.

Is the IIAC that down this year?

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Johnnies keep working mid central Minnesota, & also pick up a Marx kid from Benilde.  Mose – is he any relation to Nic Marx who played at UST?

Not to my knowledge but Im not sure.

I see Pat McKenzie's younger son (the brother of current USJ assistant coach Pat McKenzie II) is listed on the USJ roster. Will Smitty be around for the 3rd generation of McKenzies?  I noticed that his next loss will be #500--- that is a sure sign of longevity (as is the 713 wins). I never knew he once was the golf, cross country & track coach up there-- but those were all before my time (hard to believe, I know).

For some reason, all this reminds me of the column I read a couple of weeks ago in Sports Illustrated about the son of Pat Summit, who is a walk-on at Tennessee. Good story.

[Gregory Sager]

On another note - Hopefully there aren't any scandals developing in MN D3 sportland.  It seems we've got enough of them with the hapless Gopher football team and the Vikings!   Sheesh, how embarrassing! We've had enough negative press to last the rest of the year & then some!

The Minnesota Vikings were put on Earth for two reasons: 1) to lose Super Bowls; and 2) to provide plenty of off-the-field shenanigans for Bears fans and Packers fans to laugh at.

Of course, the Gophers have had more than their fair share of embarrassing scandals as well, which begs the question: Why is it that the Twin Cities, which have such a national reputation for being squeaky-clean cities full of people that are morally upright and Minnesota Nice, seem to have so many athletes (and handlers of athletes) who do things that would make a Philadelphian blush?

(And, yes, Brett Favre allegedly practiced his photographic skills upon his nether regions while still a Jet ... but tell me that such behavior doesn't just scream "Minnesota Vikings" to you.)

Wow, I just checked the D3 Top 25 & noticed that Loras, also from the IIAC is ranked #33 in the ORV. I saw both Buena Vista & Loras play last year & I'd say Buena Vista looked much stronger than Loras.  In their season opener against Augsburg, the Duhawks from Loras got absolutely clocked by a solid Augsburg squad.  IMO, Buena Vista looked like a much stronger club several weeks later in a defeat to Hamline than Loras did in losing to Augsburg.  It will be interesting to see how the season plays out for those teams.

Buena Vista does return five of its six top scorers from last year's 15-12 team. But Loras returns all six of its leading scorers from last year's 15-11 team.

[Drake Palmer]

Johnnies keep working mid central Minnesota, & also pick up a Marx kid from Benilde.  Mose – is he any relation to Nic Marx who played at UST?

Not to my knowledge but Im not sure.

I see Pat McKenzie's younger son (the brother of current USJ assistant coach Pat McKenzie II) is listed on the USJ roster. Will Smitty be around for the 3rd generation of McKenzies?  I noticed that his next loss will be #500--- that is a sure sign of longevity (as is the 713 wins). I never knew he once was the golf, cross country & track coach up there-- but those were all before my time (hard to believe, I know).

For some reason, all this reminds me of the column I read a couple of weeks ago in Sports Illustrated about the son of Pat Summit, who is a walk-on at Tennessee. Good story.

I noticed that as well

[Drake Palmer]

Greg - God help the IIAC & MIAC as far as that's concerned if Loras is indicative of the 33rd best team in the country. They were not good.  I was really shocked when I checked & noticed both BV & Loras ended up with similar records last year. The Loras NCAA tourney team of several years ago would crush last year's Loras team. B-A-A-D.  Sort of like the Vikings.  .

In sporting times like these I'm glad to say I'm a non-native Minnesotan.

It's still embarrassing.   

[Gregory Sager]

Mind you, I'm not saying that I agree with Loras getting votes. I'm not defending the choice in any way. The preseason poll is a total crapshoot, and if anything I feel sorry for the pollsters for having to stick their necks out and come up with 25 teams to rank before the first jump ball of the season. I'm simply passing along the rationale as to why Loras was picked by some of them. I highly doubt that more than one or two of the 25 pollsters even saw the Duhawks last season. Such is the nature of D3, I'm afraid.

[bball1122]

Yes, Seth Marx is Nic Marx's little brother.  Fantastic outside shooter - I'll bet he sees plenty of minutes for the Johnnies without Latzke around.

[Drake Palmer]

UST roster is posted

FYI- Former Hamline starter Eric Clute is listed on the varsity roster. This could be good.   EDIT: And Teddy Archer is back!!  .  This ought to drag Willy back out of the woodwork.   

Mose will be back with detailed analysis after a few words from his commercial sponsors, Plums & Tiffany's in Highland Park.